From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Coalition advances bill allowing gender-segregated college courses on religious grounds
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
A bill stipulating that holding gender-segregated courses at religious-run institutions of higher education will not be considered discriminatory under the law has passed a preliminary vote in the Knesset 55-45.
Sponsor Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit) lauds the bill as a step forward in integrating ultra-Orthodox Israelis into academia, while Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli welcomes its advancement as a blow to those trying to prevent Haredim from integrating into the labor market.
Yesh Atid MK Meirav Ben-Ari derides the bill as representing “everything that is bad in Israeli politics,” arguing that it bypasses a High Court of Justice ruling that deemed such segregation to be discrimination.
In 2021, the High Court upheld the Council for Higher Education’s policy of offering gender-segregated college courses in order to encourage the integration of ultra-Orthodox students but prohibited the practice of barring female lecturers from teaching male-only courses.
The court also ruled that a prohibition on segregation between men and women in public spaces on campuses must be enforced immediately.
